Jeremiah Meyer
Jeremiah Meyer | |
---|---|
Jeremias Majer | |
![]() Jeremiah Meyer, Esq. R.A., miniature painter in Enamel to His Majesty. (William Pether, Yale Center for British Art) | |
Born | Jeremias Majer 18 January 1735 |
Died | 20 January 1789 Kew, Surrey, England | (aged 54)
Resting place | St Anne's Church, Kew 51°29′02″N 0°17′16″W / 51.4838°N 0.2879°W |
Nationality | British |
Known for | Miniaturist |
Spouse |
Barbara Marsden (m. 1763) |
Parent |
|
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bd/General_Thomas_Gage_by_Jeremiah_Meyer_miniature.jpg/220px-General_Thomas_Gage_by_Jeremiah_Meyer_miniature.jpg)
Jeremiah Meyer
Early life and education
Meyer was born in Tübingen as a son of the German painter Wolfgang Dietrich Majer. In about 1750 he was brought to England by his father, though sources disagree on date and age.[1][2][3][4] In 1757–8, Meyer studied enamel painting with Christian Friedrich Zincke, paying £400 for tuition and materials.[3] His style was influenced by attention to detail of the work of Joshua Reynolds.[4]
Career
Meyer's background as an enamel painter contrasted with the training of contemporary English miniaturists such as Samuel Finney and Gervase Spencer. These initially worked in watercolour on ivory and only turned later to enamels as the popularity of enamelists like Zincke's work grew.[4]
He may have spent time at Hogarth's St Martin's Lane Academy.[1] In 1760 and 1764 Meyer exhibited enamels with the
In 1765 Meyer became one of the original directors of the
His name has often been associated with head of the king used on coinage. It is not certain that his work was used on coins minted in Britain, but his profile of George III was used on a
Personal life
Meyer was naturalised in 1762. In 1763 he married Barbara Marsden, an artist from childhood, and lived for many years at Tavistock Row, Covent Garden. They had two or possibly three sons and four daughters.[4] One of his sons, George Charles Meyer, worked as a civil servant in Calcutta apparently on the recommendation of Joshua Reynolds who described him as "the son of a particular friend of mine".[4][7]
He retired to Kew, living with his family in a house on the north side of Kew Green for many years simply known as 'Meyer's House'. The adjacent road leading from Kew Green to the River Thames, now 'Ferry Lane', was known as 'Meyer's Alley' for over a century after Meyer's death. The house is now known as 'Hanover House'. It was Grade II listed in 1950 and forms part of the Herbarium of Kew Gardens.[2][8]
Joshua Meyer died at Kew on 20 January 1789 and is buried in the churchyard of St Anne's Church, Kew, close to Gainsborough.[4] A mural tablet to his memory, with a medallion portrait and some eulogistic verses by Hayley, is inside the north aisle of the church.[3] He was survived by at least two daughters and another son, William, and his widow, who remained at the house until her death on 18 April 1818.[2][6]
References
- ^ a b c d "Portrait miniatures: artist biographies M-Z". Victoria and Albert Museum. Archived from the original on 6 October 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
- ^ JSTOR 4109419.
- ^ a b c d e O'Donoghue, Freeman Marius (1894). Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 37. London: Smith, Elder & Co. p. 316. . In
- ^ doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/18636. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ a b "George III". Royal Collection. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
- ^ a b Hayley, William (1809). The life of George Romney.
- ^ Hilles, Frederick Whiley, ed. (1929). Letters of Sir Joshua Reynolds. Cambridge University Press. p. 97.
- ^ Historic England. "Hanover House with attached railings (1065400)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: O'Donoghue, Freeman Marius (1894). "Meyer, Jeremiah". In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 37. London: Smith, Elder & Co. p. 316.
External links
- 3 artworks by or after Jeremiah Meyer at the Art UK site
- Jeremiah Meyer. "Ring with a miniature of George III". Royal Collection Trust. Inventory no. 52211.
- Profile on Royal Academy of Arts Collections
- Works by Jeremiah Meyer at the Victoria & Albert Museum
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